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Rochester Man Sentenced To For Online Enticement Of A Minor

CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051

ROCHESTER, N.Y.--U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that William Miller, 53, of Rochester, NY, who was convicted of online enticement of a minor, was sentenced to 168 months in prison and 10 years supervised release by U.S. District Court Judge David G. Larimer.

“This case illustrates the threats facing our children by people known to the family,” said U.S. Attorney Hochul. “At the same time, it demonstrates the ability of law enforcement to detect crime and then solve it. We will continue to use all of the tools available to us in order to help protect children from violent predators such as this defendant.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig R. Gestring, who handled the case, stated that in August of 2012, Rochester Police responded to the defendant’s Electric Avenue Apartment after Miller claimed to be the victim of a crime. Inside the apartment, officers saw cases of untaxed cigarettes stacked all over, which led them to obtain a search warrant. During their search, officers found a digital camera which contained sexually explicit photos and videos of a young girl which appeared to be taken in Miller’s apartment. At that point, Police contacted the FBI Child Exploitation Task Force for investigative assistance.

Federal agents joined the investigation and identified the child depicted in the sexually explicit videos as a 12 year old girl known to the defendant. Interviews with the child and her mother determined that Miller used threats and bribes to get the child to allow him to produce this material. Federal investigators also determined that Miller used his cellphone to arrange for meetings with the child at which he would produce sexually explicit videos and photos.

At sentencing, Judge Larimer called the defendant a danger to the community. The Judge also referenced the fact that Miller had 80 prior criminal convictions over the past several decades, saying that the defendant should have learned something during all that time. The Court noted that Miller was on probation in Rochester City Court at the time he committed the federal child exploitation crimes for which he was convicted.

The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation on the part of Officers of the Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief Michael Ciminelli; and Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Child Exploitation Task Force.